Struggling Texas college students need a break

Young men and women striving to realize the dream of higher education find themselves beset by tuition hikes that put their futures at risk.

I don't know what some politicians in Austin have against working
families, but I think the state needs to stop discriminating against
them and start helping them. That's why I'm filing legislation that
will impose a three-year moratorium on rising tuition and fees at our
public colleges and universities.

College tuition rates have soared to record levels since the Texas
leaders pushed through a controversial deregulation bill three years
ago that took tuition rates out of the hands of representatives elected
by the people and gave them to higher education officials. Those of us
who opposed the move warned that it would price too many families out
of the college market and weaken our ability to compete with graduates
from China, India, and other countries that are investing in their
young people.

Unfortunately, we were right. Tuition deregulation turned out to be
little more than a tax hike for working families. In fact, tuition and
fees have gone up dramatically at the state's universities:

University of Texas-Austin, 47 percent.

University of Texas-Brownsville, 59 percent.

University of Texas-Pan American, 38 percent.

University of Texas-San Antonio, 50 percent.

Texas A&M-College Station, 49 percent.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 28 percent.

Parents and students are finding it impossible to budget college
costs each year because of unpredictable tuition and fee increases,
which are rising faster than family incomes or available student
aid.

A recent national report card by the National Center for Public
Policy and Higher Education gave Texas an "F" for affordability in
higher education.

It's time to give families a tax cut they can use. My legislation
will:

Impose a three-year moratorium on tuition and fee increases at
four-year universities.

Allow a single yearly increase after the three-year
moratorium.

Cap yearly increases at 5 percent.

My legislation will also help restore the viability of the Texas
Tomorrow Fund. The steep rise in tuition and fees has forced the state
to suspend new enrollments in the popular pre-paid college tuition plan
for three consecutive years. And that's a shame. Created a decade ago,
the $1.5 billion fund allowed families to lock in the future costs of
their children's college tuition at today's prices.

But the plan will remain closed to new students as long as
out-of-control tuition rates continue to create uncertainty and a
widening gap between the most expensive and the least expensive of the
state's 35 public colleges and universities.

Tuition deregulation could cost the state billions in household
income a generation from now, according to some estimates, if we don't
take steps today to increase the number of college graduates at our
world-class institutions. The best way to create economic development
in Texas communities is to produce more college graduates, not more
college debt.

The Legislature needs to do more when it comes to funding Texas'
higher education institutions. While I realize our state budget is
finite, I also believe we will receive a 10-fold return on our
investment in higher education. To ensure the strength of Texas'
economic future, we need to invest in the education of our youth
today.

Let's make college affordable for those who need it most by imposing
a three-year moratorium on tuition increases so that middle-class
families can once again afford to send their children to public
colleges and universities in Texas.

State Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, a Democrat, represents District
20, which includes Nueces, Hidalgo, Jim Wells and Brooks counties.